Funk Associates Retained by Clemson University for President Search
January 27, 2026 – Funk Associates has been retained by Clemson University to lead in its search for its 16th president. The university is seeking candidates who possess extraordinary managerial skills, are adept at fund-raising, and are both innovative and visionary. James P. Clements announced his retirement, effective December 31, 2025. “We continue to make outstanding progress in our search with a goal to have Clemson’s next president in place within six months,” said Cheri Phyfer, search committee chair. “To date, we have engaged 18 different stakeholder groups including students, faculty, staff, affiliate organizations and local officials, and the dialogue has been thoughtful, insightful and constructive.”
The search committee will provide an update to the full board of trustees at its winter quarterly meeting in February and again reiterated its commitment to keeping campus and the community updated through the process.
“I’m energized by the progress we’ve made and confident we are on the path to select Clemson’s next exceptional leader,” said Ms. Phyfer. “We also appreciate the assistance of Funk Associates as we finalize the timeline and develop the materials essential to the search.”
The next president of Clemson will play a critical role in shaping the university’s future, fostering student success, advancing research initiatives, and strengthening partnerships across the public and private sectors.
“As we look ahead, the most important work before us is selecting Clemson’s next president – a decision that will shape the future of our university for years to come,” said Kim Wilkerson, chair, Clemson University board of trustees. “This process requires our full attention and collaboration. Our priority now is ensuring a thoughtful presidential search that reflects the values and aspirations of our entire campus community.”
Clemson University, one of the country’s most selective public research universities, serves a uniquely driven and highly accomplished student body. Ranked as the 24th best national public university by U.S. News & World Report, Clemson is a science- and engineering-oriented college dedicated to teaching, research and service. Founded in 1889, the university is committed both to world-class research and a high quality of life. Clemson has 20,868 undergraduate and 5,538 graduate students. The university offers more than 80 majors and upwards of 90 minors. Its student-to-faculty ratio is 16:1.
Provost Search
Funk Associates recently assisted in the recruitment of J. Cole Smith as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost of Clemson. “Dr. Smith is a highly regarded faculty member, researcher and leader in his field, and we are very excited to welcome him home to Clemson,” Mr. Clements said. “I also want to thank our campus community for their input throughout the process, the search committee for their dedication and Dr. Jones for his outstanding leadership as provost over the past 11 years. Dr. Smith is rejoining Clemson at a pivotal time in higher education, and I am confident that he will continue to help lead Clemson fiercely forward.”
“We’re delighted to welcome Dr. Smith as Clemson’s provost and chief academic officer,” said Windsor Sherrill, associate vice president for health research and chair of the search committee. “We had remarkable interest in this position and a pool of highly qualified candidates. I am immensely grateful to each member of the search committee for their time and diligence during this process.”
Funk Associates is an executive search firm specializing in higher education executive recruitment. The firm has recruited chancellors/presidents for two-thirds of all public AAU universities. The firm has also recruited presidents or chancellors to more than one-half of U.S. News & World Report’s recently published “Top 30 National Universities.” Over time, it has conducted more than 425 searches for college and university presidents and chancellors as well as an even greater number of provosts, deans, and various vice presidents.
The firm has been recognized by the Women’s Network of the American Council on Education (ACE) for its work in recruiting women and minorities to senior levels of higher education. Notably, the search firm has broken the color and/or gender line in president searches at more than 40 institutions around the country, making it one of the most highly sought after search firms across the sector.
R. William “Bill” Funk, founder and CEO, is a widely respected search consultant serving higher education. He has been called the “guru of higher education recruiting” by The Chronicle of Higher Education and is listed as one of the 200 best executive recruiters in the world in The Global 200 Executive Recruiters: An Essential Guide to the Best Recruiters in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America (Jossey-Bass, Inc.). Prior to founding his own firm 16 years ago, Mr. Funk was the national practice leader of the education practice and office managing director of the Dallas office for Korn Ferry International for more than a decade.
Willie Funk is president of the firm. He brings to the position both deep experience in executive recruitment and a thoughtful, client-centered approach that reflects the values of Funk Associates. Mr. Funk has been with the firm for a total of 13 years and has served as the firm’s managing vice president for the past five years.
Related: Funk Associates Recruits Dean for the University of South Alabama College of Engineering
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
